Our regular weekly guide to what to expect from the week ahead in London, with the restaurants, bars and more opening their doors across town. Just before the next bank holiday, it's a very busy week with openings including everything from singing pubs and Ikea meatballs to vegetarian fare in King's Cross and a Michelin-starred chef's pizzeria.
Bubala
King's Cross - Unit 1, Cadence Court, 4 Tapper Walk, London N1C 4ED
Opening at the north end of King's Cross, the latest Bubala is by far their biggest restaurant to date. At the foot of one of the newer big buildings up there, it's a massive double-height light-filled room that's likely to be hugely popular with the locals. As for the food, there's the Middle-Eastern-influenced vegetarian fare that's won them plenty of fans to date, with a few new must-have dishes like the spanakopita borek (pictured).
Opening date: 28 April 2024
Mr Porter
Mayfair - 22 Park Ln, London W1K 1BE
The first new restaurant that's opened as part of a big revamp of the Park Lane Hilton is Mr Porter, a steakhouse which originates from Amsterdam. It takes over the space that used to be Trader Vic's and, as you might imagine, has all manner of steak cuts from tomahawk to wagyu. The carpaccio section looks particularly interesting, not least the roasted potato carpaccio with beluga caviar.
Opening date: 28 April 2025
Ikea
Oxford Circus - 538-540 Oxford St, London W1C 1LS
Anyone who's been past Oxford Circus over the past couple of years knows that an Ikea is opening there, and the week of opening is finally upon us. Sure, you'll be able to buy a Billy bookcase or two, but it's the restaurant that we're most interested in. Their so-called "Swedish deli" has space for 130 diners and it means that you'll be able to order a plate of their fantastic meatballs for just over a fiver when you get tired of shopping on Oxford Street. We're honestly more excited about this than some high-end restaurants opening...
Opening date: 1 May 2025
Spring Street Pizza
Bermondsey - Arch 32, Southwark Quarter, Southwark St, London SE1 1TE
As you'll know from our recently updated guide, London has some great pizzerias all over town. This looks like a strong contender for that list as chef Tom Kemble, who won a Michelin star while running the restaurant at Bonhams, is in charge. He's put his exacting standards towards creating the perfect pizza and they sound pretty special - the Sausage & Friarelli features pork and fennel sausage, friarelli, red onion, wild oregano, fior di latte mozzarella, scarmorza, Parmigiano Reggiano and Calabrian chilli flakes.
Opening date: 29 April 2025
Pyro
Southwark - 53B Southwark St, London SE1 1RU
Pyro comes from chef Yiannis Mexis, who has a pretty impressive CV, having worked previously at Elystan Street, The Ledbury and Petrus. His restaurant near London Bridge is a Greek-inspired affair with lots of cooking over fire. Given the success of nearby Oma with a similar approach, this should do very well. Spanakopita makes the menu, of course, alongside embered souvlaki skewer, mussel saganaki and more. We also love the description of the "whole flame-kissed lobster", while the Sunday feast features Dorset lamb, slow-cooked over alder wood along with lamb fat flatbreads. That sounds like a great Sunday lunch.
Opening date: 29 April 2025
Fortune Fried Chicken
Spitalfields - Old Spitalfields Market, 59 Brushfield St, London E1 6AA
The latest addition to Spitalfields Market is a team-up between Gunpowder's Harneet Baweja and Executive Chef Jane Alty, one of the founders of The Begging Bowl in Peckham. It's all about Thai fried chicken, served either on the bone or as burgers. We've actually had the chance to try this already and the chicken, topped with golden garlic is excellent. It's well worth a try next time you're in the market.
Opening date: 1 May 2025
Soft launch: 50% off the menu on the first day (walk-in only)
Parasol
Dalston - 36 Stoke Newington Road, London, N16 7XJ
Parasol in Dalston comes from the same team behind Discount Suit Company and The Sun Tavern and for this opening, they've brought in Tom Gibson, the man behind Ruby's. Expect riffs on classic cocktails like the Rude Cosmo (Ocho Blanco tequila, savoia orancio, lingonberry, lemon verbena, and lime) as well as food (cheese and charcuterie) from Provisions, who will also be in charge of the wine list.
Opening date: 1 May 2025
Molly Mc's
Southwark - 96 Isabella Street, London SE1 8DD
This pub, from the same people behind MC & Sons, is being billed as a "singing pub". That's both because they'll have trad Irish music playing out in the pub but also because they have three ‘shebeen’-style singing rooms that can be pre-booked for groups for singing whatever music they like. Food-wise, it's mainly a Thai offering but they will have the Irish food of the moment, the spice bag (pictured), here featuring spiced fries, crispy popcorn chicken and hot peppers.
Opening date: 29 April 2025
Charles Pan-fried Chicken at Truffle Burger
South Bank - Under Hungerford Bridge, 30 The Queen's Walk, London SE1 8XX
Last year, Truffle Burger scored something of a coup by attracting over one of New York's best burgers, 7th Street Burger, for an extremely popular pop-up. Now, they're at it again with NYC's best (and further afield) popping up in their South Bank location. Things start off with Harlem's finest, Charles Pan-fried Chicken, serving up combos of pan-fried chicken, baked mac & cheese, collard greens, and cinnamon citrus-infused yams. It's a two-week affair so make sure you get down there soon.
Opening date: 2 May 2025
Here's what opened last week
Bianca's (Stoke Newington) - The chef behind Casa Fofo opened a more casual restaurant and wine bar
Josephine (Marylebone) - Claude and Lucy Bosi's follow-up to the Chelsea hit, this time based on Parisian brasseries
Ceru (Farringdon) - The latest outpost for the Middle Eastern restaurant
Panadera (Soho) - This is the new flagship space for the Filipino cafe and bakery
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